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Archive for September, 2015
Court refuses to block Obama climate rule
Posted by Hill: Timothy Cama on September 11th, 2015
Hill: A federal appeals court declined requests Wednesday to block the Obama administration’s landmark climate rule for power plants.
In a short, two-paragraph order filed just after 5 p.m., the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that West Virginia, more than a dozen other states and a coal-mining company do not qualify for a judicial stay that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing the regulation until the litigation is complete.
The three-judge...
With a master plan and the money, can a state unite to restore its protective wetlands?
Posted by ClimateWire: Emily Holden on September 11th, 2015
ClimateWire: For decades, Louisiana schoolchildren have learned about the football field of land that washes away from their coast each hour.
But tight state budgets and conflicts between powerful interests meant the problem usually seemed too monumental to solve.
Now, for the first time in history, Louisiana may have a significant pot of money for coastal restoration. The state has established a unified agency that could balance clashing priorities among environmentalists, residents, fishermen and energy...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on With a master plan and the money, can a state unite to restore its protective wetlands?This drought is so bad that even Seattle is running out of water
Posted by Grist: None Given on September 10th, 2015
Grist: Hey, Seattle. Remember last winter? How pleasantly warm and dry it was, almost like you live somewhere reasonable and not in a pool of tepid water near Canada? Well, you’re paying for it now. In a new article on Investigate West, reporter Robert McClure looks at the future of the city’s dwindling supply, and the results are Not Good. Representatives from Seattle Public Utilities showed McClure models based on simulations of future climate patterns, and the forecast is quite bleak. McClure writes:...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on This drought is so bad that even Seattle is running out of waterEnbridge’s Aging Tar Sands Pipelines Beneath Great Lakes Are ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 10th, 2015
EcoWatch: The Straits of Mackinac is a narrow waterway that separates Michigan`s lower peninsula from its upper peninsula. The straights connect two of the Great Lakes: Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. But underneath this iconic part of the Great Lakes are two 62-year old pipelines.
The pipelines have never been replaced, despite the well-documented risk of a rupture. "If just one of the pipelines ruptured, it would result in a spill of 1.5 million gallons of oil--and that’s if Enbridge, the company that owns...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge’s Aging Tar Sands Pipelines Beneath Great Lakes Are ‘Ticking Time Bomb’One of the World’s Largest Universities Divests From Coal & Oil Sands
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 10th, 2015
EcoWatch: Yielding to pressure from campaigners across the state who spent years pushing the University of California (UC) to divest its holdings from fossil fuels, the university system’s chief investment officer announced yesterday that the $91 billion fund would begin by pulling all direct investments out of coal and tar sands mining companies. Those investments, totaling $200 million, have already been removed.
Incredible news -- University of California dumps coal & oil sands investments: http://t.co/IIQQJ5e4ax...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on One of the World’s Largest Universities Divests From Coal & Oil Sands4 western states could see warmest year on record
Posted by Climate Central: Andrea Thompson on September 10th, 2015
Climate Central: August is synonymous with sweltering summer heat, and that was certainly the name of the game for much of the country this year, temperature data released Wednesday shows. Those sultry temperatures helped two western states see their warmest summers on record, and could help push those and others to their warmest year on record.
August also helped bolster the average temperature for the contiguous states, which saw their 12th warmest summer and ninth warmest year-to-date in the last 121 years,...
Leaked Letters Show U.K. Supports Bid by Fossil Fuel Firms to Scrap E.U. Fracking Rules
Posted by Guardian: Arthur Neslen on September 10th, 2015
Guardian: The UK government has added its weight to a behind-the-scenes lobbying drive by oil and gas firms including BP, Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil to persuade EU leaders to scrap a series of environmental safety measures for fracking, according to leaked letters seen by the Guardian.
The deregulatory push against safety measures, which could include the monitoring of on-site methane leaks and capture of gases and volatile compounds that might otherwise be vented, appears to go against assurances from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Leaked Letters Show U.K. Supports Bid by Fossil Fuel Firms to Scrap E.U. Fracking RulesWatch NASA Explain Why We Should All Be Worried About Greenland’s Melting Ice Sheet
Posted by EcoWatch: Cole Mellino on September 9th, 2015
EcoWatch: NASA scientists are worried about Greenland. Its ice sheet is three times the size of Texas and a mile deep on average. The only place with more of the world’s ice is Antarctica. But Greenland is warming twice as fast as Antarctica, NASA says. This rapid melting is raising global sea levels at an alarming rate—even faster than expected. That’s why NASA scientists are “monitoring Greenland’s ice sheet from high up in space to the ocean floor below to provide data for scientists studying the global...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Watch NASA Explain Why We Should All Be Worried About Greenland’s Melting Ice SheetHeavy sandstorm sweeps across Middle East
Posted by Times of Oman: None Given on September 9th, 2015
Times of Oman: A dense sandstorm engulfing parts of the Middle East left at least eight people dead and hundreds suffering from respiratory problems on Tuesday, as officials warned residents to stay indoors.
Large parts of Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Cyprus were shrouded in a thick cloud of dust from the storm that began sweeping into the region on Monday.
Refugees from Syria now living in basic conditions in Lebanon were badly affected.
In Syria itself, the storm meant government warplanes and helicopters...
Climate change is darkening Seattle’s water forecast
Posted by Investigate West: None Given on September 9th, 2015
Investigate West: One of the country’s fastest-growing cities suddenly has a long-term water problem.
The weather was uncharacteristically drizzly for late summer when Seattle Public Utilities tour guide Ralph Naess, tooling along a backroad in the city-protected Cedar River watershed, suddenly looked skyward with alarm at a sudden sunbreak.
“Hey -- the sun is coming out. Bad news!” Naess exclaimed. Turning to visitors, he explained: “We would much prefer a dousing rain for a month.”
It’s not unusual for...